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Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
Theme answers:
- COMBO MEALS (18A: Deals with fries and a beverage)
- INSTANT REPLAY (23A: It may lead to a "no catch" ruling)
- TILT AT WINDMILLS (36A: Fight a needless fight, metaphorically)
- BURGER FLIPPER (44A: One with a quintessential McJob)
- BUMPER CROP (53A: Extra-bountiful harvest)
Bleta Rexha (Albanian pronunciation: [ˈblɛta ˈɾɛdʒa]; born August 30, 1989), known professionally as Bebe Rexha (/ˈbiːbi ˈrɛksə/ BEE-bee REK-sə), is an American singer and songwriter. After signing with Warner Records in 2013, Rexha received songwriting credits on Eminem's single "The Monster" (which later received the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Performance) and has also contributed songwriting to songs recorded by Shinee, Selena Gomez, and Nick Jonas. Rexha released her debut extended play in 2015, I Don't Wanna Grow Up, which saw the moderate commercial success of the singles "I Can't Stop Drinking About You" and "I'm Gonna Show You Crazy".[...] Rexha has also seen success with several collaborations including "Hey Mama" with David Guetta, Nicki Minaj and Afrojack, "Me, Myself & I" with G-Eazy, "In the Name of Love" with Martin Garrix, and "Meant to Be" with Florida Georgia Line, the latter of which had large success as a country crossover single, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. Rexha's debut studio album, Expectations (2018), reached number 13 on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States and saw the success of its lead single, "I'm a Mess", and brought Rexha two nominations for Best New Artist and Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 61st Grammy Awards. Rexha released her second studio album, Better Mistakes, in 2021. (wikipedia)
• • •
Did the newspaper version have "Notes?" My puzzle popped a message up when I opened it, telling me that the circled letters would reveal a hint, but why? That's some remedial nonsense. It's obvious, once you're done, that those letters spell "PINBALL," and once you see that, you can make sense of what the theme answers have in common. Shoving the explanation in my face is the worst kind of dumbing down. Let People Figure Sh*t Out. It's part of how people get good at crosswords, part of how they learn to decipher patterns, find rebuses, etc. Stop the spoon-feeding, especially when (as with today) it's completely unnecessary. Condescending. The problem with the puzzle, though, isn't the notes—the notes are an editorial decision. Rather, the problem with the puzzle is that conceptually it makes very little sense. The circled squares are completely unevocative. They don't read like a pinball trajectory, they read like a wonky rectangle. If you had two FLIPPERs, maybe, and had them on the diagonal, you might be getting somewhere. A Sunday-sized puzzle might be a good place to work out a plausible pinball machine surface. Here, it doesn't even look like the "PINBALL" path is planned. It looks like an afterthought. You can find a very different, equally plausible "PINBALL" letter path in this grid if you really want to. Try it! You'll see. I don't know what a "COMBO" is (in pinball), but that's my problem. The weak execution of the theme? That is very much the puzzle's problem.
Got slowed down a few times by tricky clues, and by my own faulty processing skills. Couldn't make any sense of 1A: One inclined to go in and out (RAMP) until I had almost all the crosses. It's a freeway on / off ramp clue, very literal, very misdirective. I also needed every single cross for LACING (5D: Pretty trim). Had LA-ING and still no idea. Further, couldn't make sense of 23A: It may lead to a "no catch" ruling (INSTANT REPLAY) because there was no context. I guess "catch" was the context, or maybe "ruling," but I had INSTANT and still was lost. I thought maybe "no catch" had something to do with ... fishing? But again, working the crosses yielded results. Things smoothed out after that, though our two-car garage growing up did not have BAYS, unless that is just a word for "empty space where a car will fit." There was no demarcation, no boundaries, nothing separating one car spot from another car spot. The only answer that made actual sense for this clue was CARS, but that couldn't be the answer, for obvious reasons (56A: Two in a two-car garage). Again, with BAYS, as with aforementioned answers in this paragraph, I had all but one of the letters and still no clue. And again, crosses bailed me out. Nothing else in the puzzle presented much difficulty.
Cringed at BURGER FLIPPER, which has such a sneering, classist ring to it, especially as clued (44A: One with a quintessential McJob). Not here for the largely white upper-middle-class "cultured" audience of the NYTXW looking down on "McJobs" (have never, ever liked that term in my puzzle, in any form). Nobody uses the term BURGER FLIPPER who is not in some way trying to denigrate the position of a fast-food worker. Tone matters, and the tone here sucks. Low point for fill was ASAMI x/w SUER. The former is always wretched (as is its counterpart ASDOI, and its other counterparts, SODOI and SOAMI, ugh, the lot of them can jump in the sea). SUER ... just looks dumb. Luckily, there wasn't much wretchedness in the rest of the grid. Except for CXX, whose idea was that? (55D: Roman numeral equal to 12% of M). That's the kind of crap you pull when you *need* those "X"s for some theme gimmick. But here ... there is no need. If your consecutive "X" plan involves a RRN (random Roman numeral), abort that plan. Please. Just fill the grid nicely. Spare me the Roman math. Thanks.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
From the 2022 remake of the rock opera “Tommy”:
ReplyDeleteBut I ain't seen nothing like him
In any amusement hall
That differently-abled mute kid
Sure plays a mean pinball!
@Joaquin-I had the earworm from about mid-puzz on. Great job getting the first callout to this classic song!
DeleteNo weird note on my android device. I wouldn't have minded since I didn't even notice the circled squares so I thought this was a themeless until OFL told me otherwise. Maybe it's time for glasses.
ReplyDeleteFound it easier than most wednesdays. Kind of a meh theme for the reasons Rex pointed out. Might have had PINBALL swirl counter clockwise they way the way a ball travels in a real machine at least. Don’t like the reference McJob, at all, either in the puzzle or in conversation and this is the second time in a the last few weeks. We should be good with McJob for a while now.
ReplyDeleteFastest Wednesday ever
ReplyDeleteI truly enjoyed this puzzle because of the clever clues. All of the ones @Rex noted are on my list of construction cleverness. Starting with the oh so literal clue for RAMP. Not just a highway on/off RAMP, just about any RAMP at all. By definition, they are inclined, and many go in and out - especially of buildings.
ReplyDeleteAnother favorite clue of mine is he “no catch” one for INSTANT REPLAY. We in the “older” bracket well remember the first use of the term in televised sport, first football. The phrase seemed almost like a trade name as even the tv sportscasters would say things like “through the magic of INSTANT REPLAY we are able to see that spectacular over the shoulder catch!” Now, it’s just a - ho hum - replay.
Once I was admitted via the “on RAMP,” this played quite easily for me, and I enjoyed the solve. I didn’t notice the unnecessary hint until after I was finished and wanted to see who constructed this one. The hint seemed to be just an afterthought, likely an editorial one I would suggest. In the last few years, it seems to me that I have experienced way too much “dumbing down” all over the map. Here, the editorial staff obviously thought solvers were way too unexposed to the true marvels of mechanical games known (again especially to those of us who have, shall we say ripened) as pinball to recognize that one word of the theme pairs describes aspects of those marvelous time wasters of my youth. OK, and of my refined and well worn self, too. Any time I go into a dining establishment or an oasis of adult refreshment equipped with a vintage machine, I can’t resist digging for as many quarters as I can find. And by the way, @Rex, a COMBO is very much a pinball “thing” as you would say. It is a type of hit that allows on a multiple of different types of scores available on the board. Every theme answer is very relevant. Other than the rather insulting editorial hint, I found the puzzle thoroughly enjoyable and fairly easy, yet full of cracker jack clues.
As someone who has spent too much time playing pinball, I endorse Rex’s critique of this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteA nifty Wednesday puzzle if you’re a confirmed theme-ignorer, AS AM I. Paid no attention to the circles, didn’t even notice the theme until I read Rex’s entertaining post. No loss, still had fun.
ReplyDeleteSome random thoughts:
ReplyDelete• I’m guessing people either loved or hated the CXX clue; put me in the former camp.
• Now I have an earworm for the day: “Pinball Wizard” by The Who, from “Tommy” (Hi, @Joaquin!)
• Lovely wordplay in the clues for RAMP (world class), ALIBI, LACING, TIETO, SHEET, and BIB. God bless wordplay.
• There’s a schwarm of ending schwas: LEIA / ABBA / FANTA / FLORA / MALIA / ALEXA / ELIA – all but one proper names.
• Nice pair of I’LL SEE YOU and LATER.
• Excellent countering of FLORA with a strong animal presence: ASPS, VET, SWAN, STY, BAMBI, SWINE, and wannabees cRAM, instANT, burgerFLIPPER, SEALy, and sASS.
• Lovely cross of BUMP and UMP.
A sweet treat, Alex. This is one I wanted to keep in play. Thank you so much!
@Lewis 6:59 AM - My issue with FLORA is the clueing. "Flora" simply means "plant life," versus "fauna," of course, which means "animal life." [Regional greenery] is "local flora," which would have been a *great* entry, but, alas, is not the entry we have in this puzzle. Maybe next time.
Delete@Mike in Bed-Stuy: So happy to see that I am not the only person preferring precision in cluing.
DeleteSometimes, when you can’t figure out a revealer, once it finally twigs there is this appreciative explosion that takes place in your brain, and you marvel at how it all falls into place.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, when you can’t figure out a revealer, once it finally twigs you say ‘oh, OK’ and feel like there needs to be more.
This was the latter. And the fill is nothing to brag about (CXX, BTUS, DSL, ELIA, ASAMI e.g.).
But ... the cluing was generally quite inventive and interesting.
If you can work Alex Bajcz into a crossword, you're well on your way to a pangram.
The “pretty trim” clue for the answer “lacing” is that lace is a trimming used in sewing clothes and such.
ReplyDeleteGot burned by entering the equally-good RIB for chest protector, making for the mildly plausible RAYS (Stingrays?) instead of [car] BAYS.
ReplyDeleteAgreed
DeleteAs did I!
Delete@Hambone et al
DeleteDitto
Yep
DeleteSame here
DeleteHad rib as chest protector instead of bib (crossed with ray instead of bay). Took FOREVER to find the error.... Sigh
ReplyDeleteNot an error. RIB is the correct answer no matter what the constructer says. A BIB doesn’t protect the chest, it protects the shirt or whatever one is wearing while eating. One need not consider people who eat bare chested as they are beneath contempt. And RAYS is nice as I actually once owned one. Why that makes it “nice” I have no idea.
Delete@Anonymous re “chest protector” well said!
DeleteSame!
Delete@Rex misinterpreted the RAMP idea but CDilly52 caught it. It's not a highway ramp, which is for getting on or off a road. It's a building access RAMP "to go in and out", mainly for the mobility impaired. Also, like CD, I immediately thought "football" for the catch clue. I like Roman numerals and don't mind seeing them in the puzzle. The theme did not excite me but I liked the puzzle overall. Theme answers were long, 10,10,13,15, and there were 5 others 9 or longer. Nice Wednesdsay.
ReplyDeleteThx Alex; for the no-TILT puz! :)
ReplyDeleteEasy+
Smooth counterclockwise solve, starting with RICCI and ending with SASS.
Childhood friend's fam had a PINBALL machine in their basement. Lots of wasted hrs there. lol
Fun; liked this one very much! :)
@Nancy 👍 for WH 2! :)
@jae
4 hr. Croce battle; success in the end. Good for the brain cells! See you next Mon. :)
___
yd pg -5 / WH: 3 / Duo: 34/37
Peace 🙏 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🕊
Slobberbone! Your music choices in this blog are always on point and one of my favorite parts of your commentary.
ReplyDeleteI had "rib" for chest protector before I realized that "rays" didn't make sense with the clue.
Don't think I've ever played pinball, so won't comment on the theme. Still liked the puzzle and thought the cluing was clever.
ReplyDeleteNo hint to the theme on my Android, but I don't know pinball well enough for that to matter. I come here to have the details highlighted. What was fun were the tricky clues, which are great. You have to "figure them out." Great aha when crosses gave me ramp. Never heard of Bjorn, but figuring out it must relate to Abba was a great aha.
ReplyDeleteSurely the general in 16 across is General Organa? When, in life or in Star Wars, is an officer referred to by their first name? Who recognizes "Admiral Gial" (Ackbar)? Wouldn't "Colonel Luke" grate? I have a hunch about now this one slid in, though.
ReplyDeleteAlso had rib for bib. Took ages to find it.
Rex complaining about someone being condescending? Excuse me while I bend down to pick my jaw up off the floor.l
ReplyDeleteI heard today that Chevrolet is going to offer a hybrid VET.
ReplyDeleteI live in A LOFT.
I'll have the California rolls with ASAMI on the side.
I'd rather be hooked to a SUER than have a septic system.
Was Muhammad ALI BI?
Speaking of battery powered cars, have you seen the Ford E VANS?
@Julie Z: The problem is that "lacing" has nothing to do with "lace." A length of lace along, say, the top of a dress bodice isn't "lacing"--it's "lace." That clue is off by a mile.
ReplyDeleteCompletely missed the note, but zero impact on the solve. Fun, bubbly puzzle, though was still scratching my head at the end re: 6D, as my brain insisted on interpreting "pretty" as in "somewhat" instead of "attractive".
ReplyDeleteWordle 312 2/6
🟨🟨⬛⬛⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
I played plenty of PINBALL, but i think a COMBO score came in after I had stopped. The other terms were familiar.
ReplyDeleteVery few unknowns in this one, and the TILT and FLILPPER answers went in from reading the clues. My favorite had to be AKRONOHIO, which made me think of the time a friend called to inform me that "the Zips are playing the Racers in the Rubber Bowl", which was of course in Akron and involved the home team, and featured two nicknames and a bowl name that made us both smile.
My brain insisted on "cheeseboard", and it took a whole BRIE to straighten that out. Sheesh.
Is there a difference between lace and LACING?
Nice enough Wednesday, AB. I think I Almost Beat my Wed. record, except I don't keep time. Also thanks for introducing me to a rapper named Young THUG. Sounds like the kind of music I'd enjoy.
Felt trivia heavy - but worked for me. Light theme - kind of nifty including the revealer circles only within themers. The TILT AT center spanner was nice. EXURB was new to me. Wonder whether FANTA is paying for this week’s promotion?
ReplyDeleteEnjoyable Wednesday solve.
+1 on rib/rays instead of bib/bays
ReplyDeleteI don't know what country owns FIFE, FIRTH and FORTH (I hope it's not the US) - sounds like they may be somewhere in the British Isles - they can definitely keep them. Similarly, we had our fun sneaking IXNAY into a crossword puzzle - just don't do it again.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big one for being overly picky about crossword clues - I'm good with "close enough" since they are (IMO) hints, not definitions. Just out of curiosity I perused the definitions for BAY and found "an area ALLOCATED or marked off for a specified purpose" - caps MINE, I don't remember how to do italics here; so allocated and unmarked is literally one of the definitions, lol. Just another reminder to keep my pedantry in check.
I actually think the clue for BRIE (Cheeseboard staple) might be a little more problematical from the pedantry angle. The definitions that I found all indicated importance of some kind, such as: a main or important element of something, especially of a diet. "bread, milk, and other staples" I would argue that with an infinite number of ways making cheeseboards, and BRIE probably involved in maybe less than 1% of them (I know, a small percentage of infinity is a shitload - I'm being figurative) , that it is hardly a STAPLE - always welcome, but that one may fall just short if you're a stickler for details.
@SouthsideJohnny BRIE IS A REQUIRED STAPLE. If you are not putting it on your cheese plates, the charcuterie police come to your "party," take your boxed wine, replace it with Coors (at least in Colorado), and force you to turn off the classical guitar music.
Delete@Gary Jugert 9:49 AM - ikr?!
DeleteThe problem with the theme clues is that only half of the answer was related to the them, and the other half had nothing to do with anything but itself.
ReplyDeleteI also was disappointed by the clue layout. If you're going to represent where a pinball changes direction, you had better put a bumper there, in the form of grid black square. You can't just have a pinball changing direction for no reason at all. Really lazy.
I thought Rex was way too harsh on this one (though I often enjoy his most intense rants). The circled letters make a pretty common pinball trajectory to me (though it would have been much better to come out of the bottom right corner). I’ve been playing pinball since the 50s but I’m not familiar with the term combo — I guess it relates to newer machines, and I prefer the older electromechanicals — they also last forever. And this wasn’t exactly a random Roman numeral with many possible correct answers, but a very specific figure. Some of Rex’s criticisms are warranted but for me puzzle had more redeeming features.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t Have the note pop up, and I don’t know that it would’ve helped. In hindsight, yes, those are all related to pinball but if you asked me 10 minutes ago to name some pinball terms I’d have nothing more than “pinball”.
ReplyDeleteThis is one where the grid could have been a lot more fun. It would’ve been nice if there were diagonal black squares pointing down to the center like a pinball machine.
This was a fine puzzle. A little too easy for a Wednesday. Also “slues” what the heck? That is so not in the lexicon that my phone autocorrected it to THREE different words just now. I had “rib” for chest protector (idk, “rays” could be something you have in a garage. I don’t own a house) and when I got the “hmm something is amiss” pop up I was CONVINCED that there must be a succulent called an Alog Plant.
I liked this theme more than Rex. The theme elements PINBALLing from front to back is a nice touch. I guess two diagonal FLIPPERs would have been nice, but I suspect the strain on the fill would have been excessive. As it is, a nice little “Take On Me” moment when I read the circled letters. And the fill is mostly clean, so 👍🏽👍🏽.
ReplyDelete“Mostly” because EXURB and IXNAY do not justify CXX or that clue. Although I must admit to a small frisson of happy when Rex used “RRN.” I’m pretty sure I coined “Random Roman Numeral,” but if I didn’t I at least hammered and nagged about them all the time. The proliferation of RRNs and Pope RRNs have largely disappeared from fill and I think the commentariat had a role in pointing out how lazy it is as fill. The occasional RRN is harmless enough, but let’s not pretend it’s not awful or we will soon be back to the land of Pope Leo MXIV and 3014’s Super Bowl number math problems.
I’m generally with Rex on this kind of note. Why the circles are there or the reading direction would not be immediately obvious without the note, but I think few people would waste more than two precious nanoseconds figuring it out. Just not a necessary hint.
I’m not with Rex on “McJob” and BURGERFLIPPER. But that’s because I see both as criticisms of the employer and not the employees. When I see “McJob” applied to WalMart it’s usually tied to criticism (like how many employees are on food stamps - meaning WalMart is a large beneficiary of the program). The shame of a McJob adheres not to the people working the jobs, but to their employers.
@Anon late last night - That 2014 article is dated. Record low water levels were followed by record high levels. I hadn’t seen anything recently so I looked and it seems the Lakes were heading back down toward their long term average in 2021, but are still higher than in 2014. I didn’t see anything about this year’s prediction but the article you cited mentions a roughly 13 year cycle, so if 2020 was the peak six years after that article then a ~6 year ebbing would seem predictable. My key point, though, was that the figures I got from Wikipedia were good enough for comparison sake, but shouldn’t be trusted to be exactly right.
Great cluing and I was a pinball fanatic back when a good time could be had for loose change, so there it is. One pass through, easy for Wednesday, but no junk and the rapper was inferable. Bajcz had me at Ikea (I used to think of Sears as the place where you could buy lingerie and a lawn mower).
ReplyDeleteThank you for this Rex, "Bleta Rexha (Albanian pronunciation: [ˈblɛta ˈɾɛdʒa]." Now I have no idea how to pronounce it.
Cluing NYT, cluing.
I parsed ramp as an ADA-compliant alternative to stairs, because I would say that I go in and out of a building but on and off of a freeway.
ReplyDeleteI couldn’t make sense of the theme, but then again I don’t recall playing pinball. COMBO and PLAY didn’t push me around like TILT, BUMP and FLIP. I didn’t get a pop up hint on my phone either this morning. It’s all good because I liked this cluing a lot. IKEA gave me a laugh. The answer was obvious but the juxtaposition was delightfully absurd. AKRONOHIO, seriously? I would have placed the rubber nucleus of the world closer to the trees. Knowing BEBE was a gift of some singing show she was on where she was too cute to forget. FIFE might have been tough but it wasn’t, considering my ancestry. SEALY was a surprise because T&N was as familiar a brand as Orange & Pumpernickel would have been. Unlike Rex, I adored the Roman mathematics. It stopped me in my tracks because 12% of anything is novocaine to my brain. I’d still call this an easy Wednesday, but it made me happy.
ReplyDeleteThere was no way I was going to "read circled letters clockwise starting at the bottom". IXNAY to that. That's why there are crossword blogs in my life -- let someone else do the drudgery, that's what I say.
ReplyDeleteAha! PINBALL! Would that have been worth looking for on my own? Surely you jest. I don't even play PINBALL, so that word wouldn't have shed any light at all on this puzzle.
Still, the puzzle made a perfectly fine Wednesday themeless. There were some lovely clues. I liked the ones for RAMP, IXNAY, SHEET, OWING, and especially INSTANT REPLAY (23A), which I needed virtually all the crosses to get.
I didn't understand RAYS as the answer to "Two in a two-car garage". What are RAYS in that context?
I don't use TILT AT WINDMILLS to imply some sort of "needless fight". I use it to say that someone's engaged in an impossible enterprise or fool's errand that can't possibly be accomplished, even with the best of intentions. In fact, it tends to be quite a noble venture, if quixotic.
That "pretty trim" is LACE, not LACING, wouldn't you say? LACING is what you find on a sneaker. So while 5D is a nicely tricky clue, it's not an accurate one.
But basically I quite liked this puzzle -- even though the theme was completely irrelevant to me.
Stingrays, formally known as Chevy Corvettes.
DeleteMake that "chessboard" for my misreading. Double sheesh.
ReplyDeleteHate to see Fife referred to as a county, It is and always will be the Kingdom of Fife.
ReplyDeletePhrazle 24: 2/6
ReplyDelete🟪⬜🟨🟩🟪⬜ 🟩🟩🟩 🟪⬜⬜🟪 🟩🟩 ⬜⬜🟪🟪🟪
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Maybe Phrazle is easier than the regular Wordles? On the one hand, there's much, MUCH more thinking required and it feels much harder and more demanding as you're doing it. OTOH, the element of luck is pretty much removed and all comes down to skill. My Phrazle record is w-a-a-a-y better than my Wordles 1 and 2 records. This is 3 birdies in a row.
I HIGHLY recommend this puzzle to everyone!
Didn't see the theme or the weird editorial note until @Rex mentioned it. I felt like there were a lot of creative clues (like we beg for) and even so the puzzle was easy. Even THUG and BEBE dropped in from crosses -- like they should.
ReplyDeleteBoo boo boo boo boo...
Please don't use burger flipper any more. Go try the job for a week. Making food for people safely is an important profession (despite the abysmal pay rate).
Yay:
RAMP (genius!)
INSTANT REPLAY
TILT AT WINDMILLS (my favorite image in life!)
IXNAY
AKRON OHIO next to MEANS WELL (wrote them both in with no crosses)
MALT (vanilla please)
CXX (had to get out my calculator... is that cheating?)
YOLO (I don't like the initialism, but the philosophy feels meaningful)
@Southside. So happy you are not "one for being overly picky about crossword clues".
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love it when commenters try to defend their wrong answers.
ReplyDeleteI was about to complain about the many posts today disagreeing with Rex's negative comments about the puzzle when it occurred to me that I was on the verge of indulging in a rare double meta. Criticizing a criticism of a criticism.
ReplyDeleteHey All !
ReplyDeleteWe have the Pinball Hall of Fame out here in Las Vegas. Neat place, plenty of old pinballs (POC!) that are mostly all playable! It used to be on Tropicana Ave a few blocks East of The Strip, but has moved to just past the famous Welcome To Las Vegas sign. Haven't been to the new spot yet. Avoiding The Strip this week, as the NFL Draft will play havoc with streets and traffic.
Pretty good theme. My question is TILT AT WINDMILLS. There are two circles in that one and in INSTANT REPLAY. The other circles in the other Themers are in the word that corresponds to the theme, ala COMBO, FLIPPER, BUMPER. INSTANT REPLAY works for INSTANT and PLAY, and TILT works. But WINDMILLS? Or even just MILLS? Nitting at its finest.
Had the note, but never saw it. Was about to give up trying to figure out the theme, but was able to get the ole brain to see the circles spell out PINBALL. Said, "neat, all the words correspond to PINBALL. Wait... WINDMILLS?" Yes, as you should know by now, I talk to myself a bit. Unintelligent conversation, that. Har.
Is AKRONOHIO the new ERIEPA? Isn't ILLSEEYOU missing the LATER? Banner word in FIFE for certain F obsessed people. If you don't like Pig Latin, would you say IXNAY IXNAY? Are you tired of me trying to be funny, AS AM I?
yd-5, should'ves 2 / Duo 34/37 😁 (missed 1-3)
Three F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
Dana - I had the same error - finished with ALOgPLANT. SLUES? what the heck
ReplyDeleteI haven't played pinball in decades and thus may be to old to comment, but how the hell are REPLAY and COMBO iconic pinball terms? FLIPPER/BUMPER/TILT sure, but the other two just don't make it.
ReplyDeleteYou could connect the circles in any pairwise combination at all and have an equally likely path of the ball in a pinball game as if you connected them to spell pinball. It could bounce back an forth between two circles and still work.
Finally, @Southside - In my experience, BRIE is on at least (way more than) 50% of all cheeseboards I've encountered, and about that served in my house. The only time it's not served is when it's been replaced by Saint-André, which is infinitely better. It's also more expensive, so you if you're my guest and get BRIE rather than Saint-André you should know that you got the chump cheeseboard.
Properly speaking FIFE is a shire, not a county. A firth is an estuary… in this case of the River Forth. Just sayin’.
ReplyDeletePINBALL - the Boomer version of video games. I love it! This made me want to take a bag of quarters and go find an arcade, just so I could watch the TILT action. Thank you Alex, lots of fun!
ReplyDeleteHere’s our old friend FANTA again. Back so soon? I prefer Sunkist myself. For some reason it takes me back to my childhood when we had bottles of flavored soda in the machines for a nickel.
This was not the least bit musty but it evoked a lot of memories for this senior solver. And speaking of whom, I dare any of you to watch this video without falling on the floor laughing. ALEXA for Seniors.
The clue for RAMP! For IKEA! SHEET! I liked IXNAY. All of the theme answers were fine.
ReplyDeleteThe ball enters play on the right in ILLSEEYOU and exits via SLIPSBY!
It bounces around up top for COMBO and INSTANTREPLAY! It gets stuck on the edges on TILT…
Maybe the bottom XX are two spent games.
I flew through this in half my usual Wednesday time, but didn’t look at the note and I didn't notice the theme until I got here. I guess I'm a remedial solver who it's okay to ridicule. Sheesh!
My solving experience was pretty much as @CDilly52 described. I dunno. If certain spaces are circled, it’s just a matter of time before you figure out which direction to go after the puz is filled so I’m not THAT upset about the fact the note said “starting at the bottom clockwise.”
ReplyDelete@Joaquin…🤣, as @Kitshef said…ear worm the rest of the day! Maybe I should be embarrassed to say this but I’m pretty sure I could still sing every word of Tommy as it is played.
If LACING is the big dispute of the day then count me in the camp of LACING is not “made of lace” or “lace-trimmed” or “lacy.” Laces goes through eyelets in a manner that is called LACING. I think of the old bodices that were laced in front and, therefore, could be “ripped” (open 🙄). At any rate…NOT a trim.
@Laura, my guess you are accessing the puzzle on the NYT website and not the app. The app keeps the notes under an “i” button, so it only can be seen if you press/click on that button.
Ramps to go in and out: sure, limited access highways, also barns and doors and garages and trailers and who knows how many other things.
ReplyDeleteBays in those garages? Yes, empty spaces where a car will fit. That's exactly what they are.
Obvious? Nah. Circled letters spelled out "BNAILLP" to me. No note in the Times puzzle window. I had no clue and I really didn't care 'cause I thought it was a really nice puzzle. A bit easy maybe, but pretty solid cluing and no oboe or oreo. That's a red letter day for me. Oh, and I loved the 12% of M clue and answer.
PINBALL.....That's it...A game that jingles and jangles with bells that whistle and Don Quijote TILTING AT WINDMILLS....
ReplyDeleteHere's a BURGER to FLIP for you:
PINBALL was derived from some sort of table and ball game the French devised because they were tired of eating BRIE. It is called "Bagatelle" which sound like the bread you'd use for your cheese. Anyway, during the Great Depression someone came up a cheap game that would entertain the poor and down trodden. Anything to get them away from the soup line. SOOOO...PINBALL was invented and everyone clapped and cheered and sang and ate filet mignon.
By the way (because I'm on a boring roll) 1D clue : Just thought you should know that Addams Family is a pinball machine. RICCI knew her BUMPER CROPs....
Really? Then that takes the wind out of my sails. Came to grouse about such a musty clue for a great actress.
DeleteThe theme didn’t do much for me, but I enjoyed the puzzle anyway.
ReplyDeleteLiked TILT AT WINDMILLS, though I’ve never quite understood the metaphor, and BURGER FLIPPER, which I did not view as condescending. Also liked SWAN and SWINE growing from the same S.
Good clues for RAMP, BUN, and LACING.
Reatgray objay, lexaay.
Burger flippers at In’N’Out are artistes.
ReplyDeleteThings beyond my ken: rock bands...PINBALL...what will tomorrow bring? Like yesterday, I appreciated the theme phrases, especially TILT AT WINDMILLS and BUMPER CROP, without having any idea of how they were related - and so appreciated the circled letters for answering that question. Like others, I thought the fun of puzzling lay more in the clues and will add my applause for RAMP: doing an alphabet run for the first letter, I was ready to stop at L but the fact that a lamp might go "out" but not "in" persuaded me to press on.
ReplyDeleteRe: LACING - @Julie Z 7:16, @Anonymous 8:09, Pabloinnh 8:28 - I was curious about this, too, so checked the OED. One of the definitions of LACING is "Ornamental braiding, (now) esp. for military uniforms; a piece of this." So, I learned a new word for this particular type of "pretty trim."
@chipotlizard 7:58 - I agree about General Organa.
Ah, Akron, Ohio. My mind instantly flashes back to Gerry Faust, legendary high school football coach at Moeller H.S. in Akron, who was given a shot at the big time when Notre Dame hired him as head coach. Apparently a devout Catholic, he was constantly inserting "Our Lady" this abd "Our Lady" that in his press quotes, referring to the "Notre Dame" translation. After a very undistinguished 4 years, my favorite fan sign of all time appeared in the stands : "Send the Holy Roller back to Moeller".
ReplyDeleteNice puzzle. Better than the POW of Monday.
IXNAY on the “notes” says Rex and I heartily agree. Missed the fun of sussing the theme which might have provided a bit’o’fun to an otherwise pretty Wednesday grid. Thanks anyway, but I’m waiting for the curling 🥌 option 😉
ReplyDeleteSurprised no one has pointed out that putting RAMP at 1A is a stealth themer. On a pinball machine, the ball enters the game via a ramp.
ReplyDeleteI noticed this too. Not sure if it's intentional or not. Would have been cute if it had been in the SE of the grid going down.
DeleteRAMP - freeway?? not really. it's a garage. in fact, in these neck of the woods, they have a specific name: RAMParage.
ReplyDelete@Ann Howell (8:13 AM) 👍 for Weagle! :)
ReplyDelete@pabloinnh (9:15 AM)
Ditto 'chessboard'; a few nanoseconds lost there. lol
@Nancy (9:31 AM) 👍 for 3rd bird-in-a-row! :)
BIBS / BAYS
@RooMonster (9:49 AM) 👍 for Duo 34! :)
___
td pg: 30+ / W: 4* / WH: 5
Peace 🙏 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🕊
There are gowns that have satin lacing up the back as a closure.
ReplyDelete@Nancy: You seem to have plenty of company among those having a RAY in the garage but it becomes a BAY when the answer to 56D is BIB, as opposed to rib. You seem to be a real ace at Phrazle, those HITS just keep on coming. But I can’t seem to figure that game out. It affects me the same as Sudoku- after a very brief time I just get a headache.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big one for being overly picky about crossword clues ...Hah,hah,hah,hah,and hah. Hysterical, @Southside.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who has spent any time at an oil change place or any other garage would have to be familiar with "bay".
So "Mcjob" is appalling, but "Young Thug"...not worth mentioning.
@beverly c, Loved your description of the pinball route. I've been trying to think of a way that distinctive "POP" sound announcing a free game could have been worked into the grid.
if the Fox station says so, it must be true. the wiki tells us what's most important: the Great Lakes water is similar to the Ogallala - paleo. only, according to the scientists who know something, 1% of the volume is current source, rain.
ReplyDeletereading up would be a good thing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes#Water_levels skip the alternative facts, for once.
BAMBI had an ALIBI. IXNAY on the INSTANTREPLAY he said. You might be a MEAN SWELL, but it’s taking A TOLL.
ReplyDeleteWhat if you covered an ALOEPLANT in green paint? You may be thinking I NOT like that, ASAMI!
Pretty strong cluing, but the reveal was totally dependent on either squinting forever at the circled letters to find a continuous word or noticing the obscure note, making it hit with a deafening thud. The themers were OK in relatiio to pinball, but the circles occurring randomly within the themers seems odd. On the whole, I did not FLIP out over this puzzle.
Better clues for some answers:
ReplyDelete1d – 201 Romans in Providence, e.g.
4d – 1,000 Romans in Allentown, e.g.
28a – "Five. Anything else, Brutus...?"
61a – "Nine? I think not!", if said by a Fife native visiting Rome
It's a putdown of the McJob, Rex, not a putdown of the person doing the job. Why are you always so quick to take offense on behalf of other people when the other people are not offended themselves? It's so condescending. I have one very successful lawyer friend who's always saying things like "Back in the days when I was flipping burgers every summer..." Why are you more offended than he is?
ReplyDelete"Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county."
ReplyDeletethe wiki. so I guess the clue/answer are correct. they say 'loo', we say 'shitter'. same place, same business.
I first had rib for 56a. Perhaps it was stingray corvettes? After running the alphabet and ending at B, I changed it to BIB.
ReplyDeleteThink there were some clever clues, but don’t look at notes and theme eluded me (don’t think the pop-up would have made a difference)
ReplyDeleteJust fast.
🤗🦖🦖🦖🤗
@Whatsername:
ReplyDeleteWhen I was knee high to a grasshopper, my parents would some times take my brother and me with them to the local speakeasy. We got Orange Crush. Nuthin like it.
@12:02
ReplyDeleteyou do know that a significant part of the population of burger flippers aren't school kids over summer??? they're adults trying to get by, not ambulance chasers driving Mercedes Benz.
Oxford definitions has this for LACING:
ReplyDelete1. the laced fastening of a shoe or garment. "they struggled with each other's clothing, tearing at the lacing"
2.lace trimming, especially on a uniform.
Wonder who offered that example for #1?? Imagine what “especially on a uniform” adds to my mental picture.
IMHO, (as a retired Latin teacher) there’s nothing wrong with Roman Numerals. My standard Friday-before-Super Bowl-lesson was all about the IVXLCDMs…my perennial challenge was “using month/day/yr notation, what actual date has the longest string of letters?” Any takers! In crossword puzzles, it’s rarely more than 3, and easily deduced here from crosses, so no calculator needed.
@Carola, thanks on the OED LACING definition. Wow. I just called that type of trim “braiding” all these years. Ah well.
ReplyDeleteI knew that because I found this one light, elegant and clever - Rex would hate it. The
ReplyDeleteSo I'm going to comment for the first time to defend it: Fresh cluing, very enjoyable! And it's a Wednesday, no heavy tricky theme needed 🙄
M-W has "lace" as the second definition of LACING. To my ear "lace" can be trim or just a piece of lace or an entire garment, but LACING is only ever "lace trim." I don't know if that is in any way common usage since several are balking at LACING as a synonym for "lace trim."
ReplyDelete@anon 11:20 - your link cites NOAA, much better than the other Wiki pages' sources.
@mathgent - So I am not allowed to criticize you for not criticizing a criticism of a criticism? Reminds me of Rapaport, "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo."
AH, Southside, you outdid yourself today!
ReplyDeleteEasy-medium. I knew that growing up next door to AKRON OHIO would come in handy someday. Fun theme, clever reveal, liked it.
ReplyDeleteTo get the note in the NYT app you had to tap on the I at the top of the grid.
@Zed:
ReplyDeletewhich, of course, show that level is rising in 2022.
@Whatsername -- I fell into the same (never corrected, btw) rIB/BIB trap not all that long ago and I probably will again. And that's most likely because...
ReplyDelete1) I haven't worn a BIB since I was six, but my RIB is with me always.
2) I think of a BIB as protecting the blouse or the dress, not the chest.
I'll try to remember to be on the alert for that clue in the future, but I'll probably be fooled again.
Got BIB, probably because I had the AYS in place.
ReplyDelete@Whatsername 10:06 - That link is hilarious, thank you! Didn't fall off my chair but had mucho laughing tears.
@ Joe DiPinto 12:01. Nice RN spotting.
ReplyDeleteWhat about 54D - Subject of a memo concerning the result of subtracting II from III?
@Make!Do! (12:24 PM)
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the commentariat! 😊
___
Peace 🙏 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🕊
@12:40 - Does it? I just know that when I was in high school there were houses falling down dunes and roads getting washed out (there are houses outside of Saugatuck where the walk from front door to front door is about 20 yards but the drive from driveway to driveway is about 15 minutes because the road collapsed 45 years ago). Then there was lots of concern over a long stretch of low water levels followed by record high levels six year later. The trends are not straight line, though. If you look at this set of Army graphs you can see how even within longer trends there is lots of variance from year to year. That graph shows all the lakes but Superior above their average surface elevation this year but lower than the recent record high water level of 2020. I also noticed that all the lakes were low in the 1930's, inducing some real Grapes of Wrath speculation.
ReplyDeleteMany pinball games also have RAMPs that the ball gets shot into by the flipper and sometimes shot back out, but exits somehow in any case. The whole game is on a RAMP also. I'm more inclined to call the initial path of the ball as out a chute but it is part of the ramp that encompasses the entire playing area.
ReplyDeleteYou also can also catch the ball with a flipper and then direct to a particular target. Sometimes to win a REPLAY or a free game.
Are the ribs part of the chest? Do they protect the chest or the chest cavity?
Has MEAN been clued as great or visa versa? As in mean pinball?
I love pinball but think Monday was a better Monday than this one was a Wednesday although it sure was fun.
@Zed:
ReplyDeleteyes, it does. https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/data/wlevels/data/miHuronLevelsFeet.png
the short blue lines are 2022.
Ahh, Pinball Wizard! In my high school grad year of 1977, the drama / music students put on a production of Tommy. It absolutely blew - me - away. Phenomenal! And cuz I was a science nerd, I didn't know any of those talented kids... could they ever sing and dance! Sigh.
ReplyDeleteAt 30 down, I had SWI--, read the clue "29 down residents" and without checking the actual 29 down clue, entered SWISS. Sorry Swiss people!
[Spelling Bee: yd 12:30 to pg, then QB about 30 min later. QB 6 days straight!]
@RIB gusys-
ReplyDeleteHa! I started with BAYS right away, having worked in a big garage one summer, which gave me the B and made my "chest protector" a BRA. Not for long, I might add, but I'm sure feeling lonely on this one.
I used to play pinball when I worked at a pizza place. When I was on the Thursday evening shift, business was slow to nonexistent in our small town. Since I was only making $1.19 an hour and a game of pinball was 50 cents, it didn't take long to spend all the money I was earning on pinball. (I wasn't very good.) That was an old machine, no electronics, no flashing lights. The score numbers turned over like an old odometer. Fun times.
ReplyDelete@egs 12:52 – That's a good catch too. I wonder why they didn't use any of these clues, they seem so obvious.
ReplyDeleteThe clue is "Star Wars" general....... It's LEIA. Last name is irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteSo far FIFE is a county, a shire, and a kingdom
@Pete - the REPLAY is the ultimate goal of pinball. Either through scoring enough points, hitting the "special"(a target, or series of targets, usually when lit red), or by matching the last two digits to a random number generator when the game is over. You know you've won the REPLAY when the machine emits a loud satisfying wooden "THOCK" that everyone in the arcade can hear, then look over to admire you, the pinball genius. You then get to play again without needing to insert more money.
ReplyDeleteRex is so wonderful, but amuses me to no end that he quibbles about the direction of the circled letters. I find it perfectly plausible to strike the ball with the right flipper, hit bumpers left, top, and on the right, then shoot down to the bottom again.
Did I need the long explanation? Perhaps, seemed about right for a Wednesday. Without it, I might not have bothered after a themeless solve.
Some excellent clues. Hands up for rIB preventing the happy music. Found the error easily enough.
My paper had the note, but I didn't notice it. Since writing the answers in tends to obliterate the circles, I carefully noted the circle letters on the margins -- but then I finished solving and forgot all about them, and never thought about the theme.
ReplyDeleteI took the pretty trim to be the bright red, polka dot, or floral lacing people use to make their sneakers more beautiful.
A BIB protects your chest if you're an umpire.
But ALOE PLANT? I tried to stretch out ALOE vera, then just sat back and watched the last five letters fill in. I don't believe I've ever heard the expression "aloe plant." It's like saying I have a pet dog animal.
Hard to beat a debut RRN … staff weeject pick definitely goes to: CXX.
ReplyDeleteHave played pinball machines before, but am a little fuzzy on the COMBO reference. All the other themers made solid sense to m&e. Assume COMBO is some sorta bonus scorin feature.
Bouncy theme, with The Circles, too boot. Interestin six-black square blob formations, on the puzgrid sides; don't see those pups, very often. Sorta like mutations of The Jaws of Themelessness.
some faves: MEANSWELL. RAMP [bonus pinball term?]. SLIPBY. ILLSEEYOU.
Thanx for the wizardry, Mr. Bajcz dude.
Masked & Anonymo6Us
**gruntz**
I solved on the NYTimes newspaper website. No notes. It did take me a while to figure out I had to read the circles from bottom to top; but by then I was almost done. Burger Flipper annoyed me too. Thanks, Rex.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the commentariat seems to have decided that RIB/RAYS is the correct answer, because that would mean I solved the puzzle successfully. I did not get happy music, and I thought RAYS might be the problem, but all the crosses looked solid, including RIB. I couldn't find an error, and I came here to see that the constructor and the NYT seem to think BIB/BAYS is correct. When would someone use "bay" to describe the two sides of a two-car garage? "Honey, can you park in the left bay tonight?" I think of bays as being at a truck loading dock or something.
ReplyDeleteWe had a pinball machine in the basement when I was a kid, and we played it for hours. I am almost 60 now, and that pinball machine is STILL DOWN THERE. Along with the bumper pool table. My dad lives in the house I grew up in, and both games now serve as stacking spots for the many things that he and my stepmother, hoarders both, keep down there. We have tried to get them to let us clean out the basement, but they will not allow it. Anyone in the St. Louis area want a non-functioning pinball machine that could probably be fixed? It's yours if you can get it out of there -- and if Dad and Pam will let it go.
Anon 12:33,
ReplyDeleteWell, As with most automotive names with length productions runs, the stingray business is complicated and convoluted.
But It's fair to say you've got the chronology wrong. Corvette has been used without interruption since its introduction in 1953. The name stingray ( originally sting ray) has been used off and on since 1963--
the second generation( referred to as C-2) of Corvettes. It was also applied to the C-3 nd the C-7. But not, the C-4, C-5 or C-6.
I confess to having no idea whether the current iteration--the C-8-- uses it or not.
I should've purchased one in 2020. I didn't. And can barely bring myself to write the model name let alone contemplate whether or not they're using Stingray or not. But one thing's for sure, it's one of the very great bargains in all of autodom.
@Whatsername -- Love the Alexa spoof! Thanks for posting it.
ReplyDelete########
Re: Should I have known immediately that rIB was wrong because of RAYS/BAYS? Answer:
When you don't drive and don't know car models, your automotive ignorance may actually seep right over into garages. From what I know of garages (damn little!) they have doors are opened and closed by some sort of smart gadget and most of them have room for two cars that are parked side by side. (My brother's in CT also has a wooden rack near the door where you can leave shoes and boots.)
I have no idea what a garage's BAYS would be anymore than I have any idea of what a garage's RAYS would be. Could RAYS be the things that smart gadgets emit in order to open garage doors, I wondered while solving? I had no idea.
(This is how the mind of a lifelong non-car person works.)
Enjoyed the puzzle, for the most part. More Roman Math, not less!
ReplyDeleteFlora: (n) all the plants of a particular place or from a particular time in history
ReplyDeleteWow. BAY certainly has wide range of definitions. You almost have to specify garage bay door to get to today's definition. Unspecified and unmarked. Almost defies definition. Here is a definition of bay door:
ReplyDeleten. 1 a door at the rear or side of a building. 2 a means of entry to a job, position, etc., that is secret, underhand, or obtained through influence
Now def 1 is somewhat normal except for wondering what the same door would be in front of the building. Def 2 is even weirder. Sounds like the entrance to a speak-easy or a place you go to collect bribe money. A drive-thru graft pay-off site with 3 bay doors. ???
I had no idea or knowledge of IKEA meatballs. How many pages of instructions come with them?
I never was in an IKEA store. It seems I was the only one with that particular ignorance.
@great lakes water levels: The chart of @anon shows water is rising this year as one might expect judging by what average per month would indicate, but are lower than last year's levels. I've lost the point of the discussion anyway.
@albatross (7:11) -- I had no idea that IKEA sold meatballs either. But I had the K from AKRON OHIO and I know IKEA sells sectionals, so I wrote it in, and to tell the truth, I never thought about it again. Until your comment just now.
ReplyDelete@albatross shell - Without going over everything:
ReplyDeleteSome Great Lakes are literally higher than other Great Lakes so that weird clue yesterday was literal.
That one Anon didn’t realize that a 2014 article and a news report are not the best sources for current hydrological information.
Wikipedia is a good place to start but you should always check their sources.
And the Great Lakes have higher water levels than they did from 1998-2014, while they are down a little bit from 2020 (which some sources claim was the highest ever).
FWIW - Chevrolet lists a Camaro and a Corvette Stingray as their performance vehicles.
BAY was easy here.
@Zed
ReplyDeleteI recently posted a chart on the great lakes comparing them by surface area, volume of water, depth of water from surface, feet above sea level of surface, relative depth of the seabeds. I think I mentioned a possible underground river connecting Superior to Ontario, and a mysterious shape on the bottom of Superior. If I only remembered what day
I LOVE that Sesame Street pinball video! A real flashback to when I watched the show, and pops into my head every once in a while.
ReplyDeleteThe revealer in circle puzzles is always an after the solve reveal for me. I usually have the themes solved before I have all of the circles filled, and they are usually on days when I'm working for time and can't afford the time to digest the circles rather than complete the grid.
Late to the party, but once upon a time, pinball games had no flippers. Very much a game of skill, both in how hard to pull back the starting thingie, and how to manipulate the machine itself so as to make the ball get all the way to the bottom without falling in a hole. If you succeeded, the machine gave you a replay, and a new ball appeared. And of course if you manhandled the machine too much, it said TILT and Game Over.
ReplyDeleteThey had them all over the place in San Francisco when I lived there, and yes, if you had a bunch of replays the proprietor would pay you off. A feature which made them illegal in some places, and was a minor source of bribe revenue for the local cop on the beat.
The flipper machines were common in my youth, at pizza places and bowling alleys, and since they were places for kids, no payoffs occurred. The real flipperless machines were in bars and liquor stores, of which San Francisco had many.
@Mary McCarty 12:11 PM
ReplyDeleteNo one answered! My guess is 8/28/1888.
@Anonymous 3:43
Not without interruption. There were no 1983 Corvettes. And yes, the current C8's have Stingrays.
RooMonster Almost Bought A Vette Once Guy
OFF is back to his old fussbudgety self. I liked this one. The only thing I agree with is that gimmicky RRN at the bottom; it was jarring. A sour note in the tone, if you will.
ReplyDeleteEasy enough, certainly: with only the I from AKRONOHIO in place, one glance at the clue was enough to get TILTATWINDMILLS. That was when a possible theme began to show itself. COMBO in pinball is fuzzy at best, and there are lots of different REPLAYs. But adding TILT to REPLAY...hmm.
As a longtime player, I had fun with today's. In this country, pinball started out as a gambling game with a series of numbered holes to steer the ball into. There were no flippers. It was illegal almost everywhere. As it evolved, the gambling aspect faded away, replaced by the REPLAY. There was nothing like the resounding "CLOCK!" when you hit one. The most complicated and many-faceted game I ever played was a super-wide called Middle Earth. I never won at that machine. @Roo, I've been to the HOF several times. The owner refurbishes old machines and gives all the profits to charity. Truly a remarkable fellow.
BEBE Rexha (REX-ha? Is that why you picked her for your WOD?) adds DOD to her titles. Gonna give this one a birdie, unlike my sub-par (?) Wordle effort:
BBBYB
BGYBY
BGGGG
BGGGG
GGGGG, finally! Three choices, and I couldn't think of a word with all three letters to guarantee a par. So naturally, two bad guesses.
Just like Rex, 56A Two in a two-car garage (BAYS) was a head-scratcher for me. Until I remembered what the mechanics at the auto service garage call the area where they hoist up the cars to work on them underneath. They call them BAYS. The clue is a misdirect because it leads you to think of an ordinary residential garage when in fact (I think) the clue is about an auto repair shop garage. Agree with Rex that the note about the circled letters was not needed and took away from the solve experience. SUER, BEBE and REI were baddies. COMBO was the weakest of the themers and should have been IXNAYed by the editor. LATER!
ReplyDeletePS - I nearly fell for the rAYS-rIB trap before the light clicked on about service BAYS.
ReplyDeletePPS - I would have used RAMP at 1A as the launch point for the the first P in pinball and made the subsequent letters flow down until the final L in pinball fell into the gobble HOLE (instead of BTUS) at 62A. That would have given the pinball gimmick a bonus feature. “Circled letters reading clockwise” didn’t ring any bells or light any lights for me.
ReplyDeleteINSTANT IXNAY
ReplyDeleteALEXA: "That THUG MEANSWELL, no SASS nor ALIBI."
LEIA: "I'LLSEEYOU IN hell, and that SWINE won't SLIPBY!"
--- PAM EVANS
Right. Pinball makes as much sense as throwing in some random Pig Latin. Only thing that intrigues me in this puz is the IKEA meatballs. Anyone ever had one? Are they really all that?
ReplyDeleteDiana, Lady-in-Waiting for a better burger
Hhhh
ReplyDelete